I started to think about who he was busy with in celebrity security.

“Who do you, uh, have contracts with right now?”

“Mainly athletes,” he told me. “We have plenty of them in Chicago. From the Bears, the Cubs, the Bulls, the White Sox, you name it.”

“So does Atlanta,” I told him.

“That’s why I’m trying to get into that Atlanta market.”

I really didn’t feel like shooting the breeze too long with Corey, so I moved on.

“Yeah, so I’ll probably call you up once I get into town if I’m not too busy, man.”

“What time does your plane arrive? Maybe I can pick you up at the airport if you want?”

I didn’t want to make any solid promises to him. I had to back away from that. “They already have a limo set up for me. I need to check my flight schedule anyway. And I have a few other calls to make, man, so I’ll call you when I get a chance.”

“All right, you do that. And I look forward to seeing you again, man.”

“All right, good.”

I hung up the cell and took a breath. I didn’t really want to be around that guy anymore, so I planned to keep myself busy enough in Chicago not to have time to call him. Nevertheless, the guy had gotten to me again.

I hear she’s into girlfriends now were his exact words. I wondered whether it was valid information. But if I was no longer involved with Andrea, then what the hell difference did it make? She could do what she wanted to do and like who she wanted to like.

I shook my head and mumbled, “I don’t have nothing to do with that, so just leave it alone.”

I did remember conversations with Andrea where she discussed her understandings with certain girlfriends concerning sex, life, and feminine feelings. But that was normal for any woman with girlfriends. That didn’t mean they were sucking on each other. So I tried to block those thoughts out of my mind and move on.

KIM O’BANNON called me later on that night to tell me that she may ride with the limo driver to pick me up from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport when I arrived in the early afternoon. From the airport, they would take me to check into the Swissôtel on Michigan Avenue. They had made reservations for me to stay there over three nights. The first day in town was for basic introductions. The second day was the photo shoot. And on the third day there was a lung cancer awareness banquet.

Kim was all giddy over the phone. “I’m really looking forward to seeing you again, Terrance. Out of all the models we’ve dealt with over the past few years, you have definitely been the most consistent.”

“Thank you,” I told her.

“Oh, you’re welcome. You wouldn’t believe what we’ve had to go through with some of these models, especially when they feel they’ve gotten close to you.”